Works Volume I
Encyclopedia
Works Volume 1 is a 1977 album by progressive rock
band
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
. It is a two-disc set divided into four major sections, one each highlighting each band member, and one for combined works.
. However, it was different from the synthesizer-driven music that most fans had expected and received a mixed reaction from fans and press.
Side 1 of the first disc is the Keith Emerson
side, a concerto for piano and orchestra.
Side 2 is the Greg Lake
side, and consists of acoustic ballads, most of which were written by Lake and Peter Sinfield
.
Side 3 (disc 2, side 1, the Carl Palmer
side) includes a remake of "Tank" (from ELP's eponymous first album), with orchestral accompaniment and without the drum solo. Another track on Palmer's side is the rocker "L.A. Nights", featuring Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh
on lead and slide guitar and scat vocal. Also, two arrangements of outside composers' pieces figure on the Palmer side: one of Bach
's baroque D Minor Invention #4, BWV 775, and a piece titled 'The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits', an excerpt of the 2nd movement of "The Scythian Suite" by Sergei Prokofiev
(1891-1953), written in 1915.
Side 4 (disc 2, side 2) features the entire band together, and consists of a modern piece re-arranged for rock band, Aaron Copland
's Fanfare for the Common Man
, and the long-form song "Pirates" which features lyrics added to music Emerson had written for the soundtrack of a canceled film version of Frederick Forsyth
's book The Dogs of War. Aaron Copland found ELP's version of his piece appealing although he was puzzled at the inclusion of a modal
solo between two fairly straight renditions of his piece.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
. It is a two-disc set divided into four major sections, one each highlighting each band member, and one for combined works.
Overview
The album was highly anticipated, as it had been four years since the release of ELP's last studio album, Brain Salad SurgeryBrain Salad Surgery
Brain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in 1973 and the first under their Manticore Records imprint. It fuses rock and classical themes. Lyrics were co-written by Greg Lake with fellow ex-King Crimson member Peter Sinfield. Cover...
. However, it was different from the synthesizer-driven music that most fans had expected and received a mixed reaction from fans and press.
Side 1 of the first disc is the Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
side, a concerto for piano and orchestra.
Side 2 is the Greg Lake
Greg Lake
Gregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
side, and consists of acoustic ballads, most of which were written by Lake and Peter Sinfield
Peter Sinfield
Peter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
.
Side 3 (disc 2, side 1, the Carl Palmer
Carl Palmer
Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...
side) includes a remake of "Tank" (from ELP's eponymous first album), with orchestral accompaniment and without the drum solo. Another track on Palmer's side is the rocker "L.A. Nights", featuring Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
on lead and slide guitar and scat vocal. Also, two arrangements of outside composers' pieces figure on the Palmer side: one of Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's baroque D Minor Invention #4, BWV 775, and a piece titled 'The Enemy God Dances With The Black Spirits', an excerpt of the 2nd movement of "The Scythian Suite" by Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
(1891-1953), written in 1915.
Side 4 (disc 2, side 2) features the entire band together, and consists of a modern piece re-arranged for rock band, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
's Fanfare for the Common Man
Fanfare for the Common Man
Fanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice...
, and the long-form song "Pirates" which features lyrics added to music Emerson had written for the soundtrack of a canceled film version of Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
's book The Dogs of War. Aaron Copland found ELP's version of his piece appealing although he was puzzled at the inclusion of a modal
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
solo between two fairly straight renditions of his piece.
Keith Emerson
- "Piano Concerto No. 1" (Keith EmersonKeith EmersonKeith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
) - 9:18- First Movement: "Allegro giocoso" – 9:21
- Second Movement: "Andante molto cantabile" – 2:09
- Third Movement: "Toccata con fuoco" – 6:48
Greg Lake
- "Lend Your Love to Me Tonight" (Greg LakeGreg LakeGregory Stuart "Greg" Lake is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a vocalist and bassist of King Crimson, and the bassist, guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.-1960s: King Crimson:...
, Peter SinfieldPeter SinfieldPeter John Sinfield is an English poet, lyricist and artist, most famously known as the lyricist and co-founding member of early incarnations of King Crimson, whose debut album In the Court of the Crimson King has been regarded as one of the most influential progressive rock albums ever...
) – 4:01 - "C'est la Vie" (Lake, Sinfield) – 4:16
- "Hallowed Be Thy Name" (Lake, Sinfield) – 4:35
- "Nobody Loves You Like I Do" (Lake, Sinfield) – 3:56
- "Closer to Believing" (Lake, Sinfield) – 5:33
Carl Palmer
- "The Enemy God Dances with the Black Spirits" (Sergei ProkofievSergei ProkofievSergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, arr.ArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
Emerson, Lake, Carl PalmerCarl PalmerCarl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer and percussionist. He is credited as one of the most respected rock drummers to emerge from the 1960s...
) – 3:20 - "L.A. Nights" (Palmer) – 5:42
- "New Orleans" (Palmer) (features Joe WalshJoe WalshJoseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
on guitars and scat vocalScat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
) and Keith Emerson on keyboards. – 2:45 - "Two Part Invention in D Minor" (J. S. BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
, arr. Palmer) – 1:54 - "Food for Your Soul" (Palmer) – 3:57
- "TankTank (song)Tank is the penultimate song from the British Progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer's debut album. The song was intended to showcase drummer Carl Palmer's unique drumming style...
" (Emerson, Palmer) – 5:09
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- "Fanfare for the Common ManFanfare for the Common ManFanfare for the Common Man is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier in the same year where vice...
" (Aaron Copland, arr. Emerson, Lake, Palmer) – 9:40 - "Pirates" (Emerson, Lake, Sinfield) – 13:19
Bonus Tracks
- "Tank" (Live in IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, 24 January 1978) 9:49 - "The Enemy God Dances with the Black Spirits" (Live in Indiana, 24 January 1978) 3:13
- "Nutrocker" (Live in Indiana, 24 January 1978) (Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, Kim FowleyKim FowleyKim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
) 4:18
Singles
- Fanfare for the Common Man / Brain Salad Surgery
- C'est la Vie / Hallowed Be Thy Name